AN: A few quick things… Thank you to the Guest that pointed out that I named the wrong museum. Total bone head move on my end and I appreciate the correction! And thanks to Patti for pointing out that I misspelled Saks lol! I blame that one on the fact that I'm fashion dense.

This chapter is pretty long so I'm going to get right to it! Thank you to UltimateBethylFicList (Are you following her on Tumblr? Cause ya need to!), Trixieviv, Guest, Guest, 2carlaa, rckyfrk, DarylDixon'sLover, Carowen, BetaGirl09, Reignashii, Josie, An Amber Pen, and heatherrk for the reviews! You all are awesome!

Chapter 15

The rest of Saturday and Sunday passed by in a blur. Glenn and Maggie spent Saturday evening exploring the city while Beth, Michonne, and Daryl stayed in and waited for Andre to arrive. Sunday, the sisters went out on the town shopping with Michonne, while the sitter stayed with Andre. Glenn and Daryl sat around looking at car magazines and watching shows on some channel called Velocity that Daryl would have never gotten in any place he lived on his own.

The girls came home late Sunday afternoon, their arms full of bags and bags of stuff. Daryl wasn't sure what was in them, nor did he care. He wasn't used to this life. The fancy hotels and the money to burn on anything and everything anyone could possibly want made him feel out of place. As they set up to show everything they bought to Glenn, not that he looked like he cared either, Daryl excused himself to hide in his room. They didn't have anything left to do today other than prepare themselves for the gig at XM Studios. He could hear the laughter bouncing off the walls of the living area but he didn't feel much like joining in on their fun.

After the plane ride to New York and lunch at the pizzeria, Daryl had been feeling less and less confident in his abilities to keep her safe. He had let his guard down on the plane and he knew she'd seen past what he had said to what he hadn't. He wasn't afraid of Zach, he was afraid of what he would do to her and what that would mean for him if that happened. The thought of something happening to her at this point clouded his mind and made his blood run cold.

He was at odds with himself. He knew he'd do whatever he could to protect her and make sure that she was happy, even if it meant that he was not a part of her life other than just to serve as protection. But even as he tried to convince himself that the three months he spent trying to forget her meant nothing, when he saw the response to his unspoken realization he knew he never would. He also knew she seemed to feel more for him then he had thought she would, but what the hell did that mean? Where the hell was he supposed to take it? Rick had made it a point to tell him to keep it professional but here he was teetering between business and pleasure and he had no idea what to do.

He was grateful for the blissful hours prior to them going to bed to be left alone with his thoughts as he tried to figure out what he wanted to do and just how he could distance himself from the woman that had captivated him so deeply without letting his guard down.

The next morning everyone was rushing about, in frenzied activity. Maggie was reluctantly preparing for her flight out at eight forty five and Glenn was rushing to make sure he had her at the airport in time. Daryl was finalizing the details of the gig with Michonne, who had asked to stay back and spend the day with her son. Beth had graciously agreed to her request, stating that Daryl would be all the protection she would need. His stomach clenched at the idea of her protection being once again solely in his hands.

Glenn had only just arrived back from dropping Maggie off when the hotel phone rang. Beth answered it and gave her thanks to the person calling. She looked at the two men staring back at her and gave a nervous laugh. "The limo is here." Glenn slapped Daryl on the back.

"Let's do this!" Daryl glared at the man and waited for Beth to make her way to the door. She said goodbye to Michonne and gave the little boy a kiss on the head and moved towards him. To anyone else she would have looked elated to be getting in an elevator and driving around New York City in a limo but Daryl's perceptive eyes could see the fear she tried desperately to mask. He wasn't certain what the fear was but something inside him pulled to comfort her.

"S'gunna be ok." He whispered as she passed him. She bit her lip and nodded her head in acknowledgment to his promise.

"I know, just nervous."

He followed just behind her as they approached the limo. A man in a suit was waiting by the door with a smile. He opened and closed the door for them leaving Daryl feeling incredibly uncomfortable. He was never used to having someone do something as simple as open a door for him and it was simple things like this that reminded him just how far out of his element he was. He was surprised to find more champagne in the limo but the bottle remained unopened this time.

They pulled up to a very large building about twenty minutes later. Daryl was convinced with the amount of time they spent in traffic, they could have walked there in half the time but Beth's smile at sitting in the back of the fancy vehicle was enough to keep his grumbles to himself.

They entered the building and Glenn informed them they were to head to the fifth floor where Beth would be interviewed by a woman named Casey. She would be introducing Beth's new works and allow her the chance to sing a few songs on air. Daryl and Glenn would be just outside the studio in the sound booth where they could watch her. The closer they got, the more nervous she looked.

"Everything will be fine, little sis." Glenn said with a pat on her arm. He stepped away from her and met with a few people behind a counter. She looked at Daryl timidly. He cocked his head to the side and gave her a questioning look.

"I just keep thinking of how many people at one time will hear my voice."

"Think more people watch the Today Show then listen to the radio." He responded with a shrug. She groaned.

"Thanks for that." She rolled her eyes at him and laughed. Daryl wasn't sure what else he should say so he opted to just keep quiet, which she seemed to be fine with. A small woman with a cowboy hat came out of a closed door and greeted them.

"Hey Beth, I'm Casey. Great to meet you." Beth responded with the same and the two started chatting away about the interview and acoustic set. Glenn walked over and handed Beth a guitar case and told her they'd be waiting out here for her. She smiled to her brother in law and followed Casey into the studio. Daryl stood against a back wall, behind the glass and watched the interaction. After a few minutes, the on air light lit up and the girl's voices could now be heard across the world in thousands of cars and homes.

Daryl was amazed yet again by how comfortable she could look when she was working. The fear in her eyes was gone and she was carefree and giddy as she answered all the personal questions from "What made you want to be a singer?" to "Where does your inspiration come from?" Every answer was genuine. After close to an hour of talking about everything and yet nothing, Beth was set up to sing. She tuned the guitar and finally began to strum a soft and simple tune.

"Tell her a story. Tell her the honest truth. You treat her better, make sure to see it through." Her voice was sweet with a slight twang he'd never heard in it before. He assumed it was aimed for the targeted audience. She sounded like a siren and he couldn't take his eyes off of her.

"Don't just be everything she wants. Be everything she needs. When she says she loves you, tell her you love her too." Her eyes reached up and connected with his as she sang several "Oh"s over and over again. A smile graced her face as she continued to sing. "Give her a reason. A reason to love all you do. She'll tell you secrets, you'll tell her secrets too. She'll tell you all her hopes and dreams. You'll tell them too." Her gaze turned back to her guitar and Daryl wished she would look at him again but was terrified at the same time. His chest tightened and out of the corner of his eye he could see Glenn watching him closely. Daryl didn't acknowledge the man's gaze and didn't think he could if he wanted to. He never wanted to look away from the woman with the most beautiful voice he'd ever heard.

A few more songs later, Beth came out to a sea of praise from Glenn. He was telling her how proud he was of her and how amazing she sounded. She blushed and thanked him. Casey asked for at least another hour of their time to answer the buzz of Twitter questions that had come in during her performance. Beth was more than happy to oblige. Daryl decided to take the opportunity to go wait in the lobby of the studio. He was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't hear the man walk up next to him.

"What'd you think?" Glenn asked.

"Don't matter none." He heard Glenn scoff.

"OK, whatever. The record label wants to meet with her after this. Shouldn't take more than a few hours. They want to talk to her about the set here and the album." Daryl tried to contain his groan. While he was thankful for the uneventful-by-his-standards day, he wasn't looking forward to sitting in another lobby with suits walking past him with their judging eyes. "Look, Maggie wanted me to talk to you. She's concerned with the way she's caught you starring at her sister. To keep the wife happy I told her I would." Daryl shot him a dirty look that dared him to continue. "I get it. Just don't do anything to hurt her, ok?" Daryl's glare faded and was quickly replaced by one of confusion.

"Y'all hired me to protect her, not hurt her." Glenn chuckled and stood up without another word leaving Daryl more dumbfounded than before. Over the course of day it began to click with him more and more. Everyone seemed to already know what he was denying himself and he wasn't making it hard for people to figure it out. The more he thought about it the more tense he became until the frustration was all consuming.

They got back to the hotel shortly after eight that evening. The sun had fallen below the horizon on the early fall night. Daryl made his way wordlessly to his room. Once the door was closed he ran his hands through his hair and felt suddenly like a caged animal being poked by gawking children. He wanted to get the hell out of there but had nowhere to go. Deciding against kicking something, anything, within distance of him, he ripped his shirt off of his body and began to make his way to the adjourning bathroom to take a shower. Perhaps the cold water cascading down his heated skin would cool the rage threatening to spill out.

Just as he was about to cross the threshold to the bathroom he heard a small gasp from behind him. He turned around to see her standing in the doorway, her mouth agape and eyes wide. He knew what had shocked her and he couldn't control his anger any longer.

"What the hell is your problem, girl? Don't ya knock? Get the hell out!" His arms flung wildly around him as if the motion alone would move her. She closed her mouth and bolted from the room but he caught the hint of tears dripping down her cheeks before she turned and fled. He sat down on the bed and dropped his head into his hands. He hadn't meant to yell at her but her reaction at seeing his mangled back was too much for him. He should apologize but he couldn't.

"Where are you going?" Daryl heard Michonne faintly ask.

"I need air." Beth responded, her voice rising slightly. His heart dropped in his chest when he heard the door to the hotel open and close. Getting up, he quickly threw on his shirt, grabbed his gun off the nightstand, and made his way to the front door.

"What the hell did you do, Dixon?" Michonne growled.

"Not now." His own words held enough bite in them to scare even the toughest person. Michonne took a step back and kept quiet as he ran out the door and after Beth.

He got to the elevator just as the door closed so he opted to take the stairs down in hopes of catching up to her in the lobby. She had no business running out into the city alone and he had just scared her into doing that very thing. As he bounded down the steps two at a time, guilt began picking away at him. If anything happened to her right now it would be on him. He had to find her.

As he pushed his way out of the stairwell on the ground floor he could see her retreating form at the entrance of the hotel. He wanted to yell for her but was worried he would spook her. Instead, his feet pushed him closer to her. He could see her running across the street and to the park across the way. Once outside, he knew he couldn't risk her getting out of sight, so he called out to her, her head whipping around to look at him. To his surprise she stopped and waited for him to get to her.

"I'm sorry, Daryl. I should have knocked." Her voice sounded weak and broken, nothing like the strong woman that he had been mesmerized by earlier that very day.

"What are ya thinkin'? Ya know you shouldn't be runnin' out here by yourself." He made every effort he could to keep his voice low despite what he was feeling.

"I'm surprised you came after me." She admitted.

"Course I did. Ya know I ain't gunna let somethin' happen to you. 'Specially when it's my fault ya went runnin' out in the first place." He paused for a minute before continuing. "Want to head back?" She shook her head and looked back at the park.

"No, I just need some air." He nodded and extended his arm to the park and watched her slowly walk away from him. He followed a pace behind, just within reach. She strolled around silently for a while before finally seeing a park bench and taking a seat. Daryl waited on her to offer the vacant seat before he would sit with her. To his surprise he didn't wait long. She patted the bench before folding her arms protectively around herself. He sat down and kept quiet. He knew if she wanted to speak she would.

"What happened to your back?" He tensed at the question hoping it would be the one thing she wouldn't ask. He didn't want to answer her. The only person to know about his back was the man that did this to him. He didn't even think that Merle knew the extent of the damage he fought so hard to hide. He shrugged his shoulders and tried to push the question away.

"Not a great story." He mumbled.

"If you don't want to tell me, I get it. But sometimes talking about it, letting it go, is so much better than keeping it bottled up inside." He gave her a sideways glance and saw the sincerity and concern on her face. She wasn't pressuring him. He wasn't used to someone being so delicate with him. He took a few shaky breaths before he finally let the words slip past his lips.

"My ol' man was a drunk. Used to beat the shit outta Merle and me just cause. When Merle took off after my ma died, he didn't need ta be drunk ta take a belt to my back." He dared a glance at Beth but her face was emotionless. He was surprised to find there was no sympathy or pity in her eyes. Just understanding.

"Daddy was raised by a drunk. He used to tell stories about how grandpa would take a switch to him. Daddy was usually able to get away from him. He always said he wanted us to know the truth about his childhood so we could learn from the past."

"Think ya can learn from it?" Daryl asked her honestly.

"More than I ever did before. You selflessly put your life on hold for me. For some random girl you'd only ever met once before. You're protecting me, not hurtin' me. You're a good man, Daryl Dixon."

"I don't think it was entirely selfless." His voice was barely a whisper but she heard him clear as day. Her eyes studied him for a long time as she seemed to dissect his words. He felt nervous and stupid all at the same time. How many times would he screw up and say something like this to her after he's convinced himself that he wouldn't be involved? That he would never be good enough to have someone like her in his life in any other way than this.

"You're still a good man." She whispered softly again. Before he had a chance to respond or process the sight before him he felt her lips brush against his. The ghostly touch haunted him into thinking he was only imagining the sensation rather than actually feeling it. Only when he felt her move slightly closer and her lips touched his again with more pressure did his body actually respond. Slowly, with shaking limbs, he brought his hands to the side of her face and returned her kiss. He tilted his head slightly to gain better access to her mouth while his mind screamed at him to stop. He shouldn't be doing this but his body had taken over and he was no longer in control.

"I knew it." Daryl heard a voice full of venom growl from behind her. As he jumped away from Beth to find him, he was already too late. Daryl's heart stopped when he heard Beth scream as she was yanked away from him by her hair and pulled up against Zach's body with a knife to her throat.

AN: Don't kill me. The song is Tell Her You Love Her by EchoSmith. I didn't make it up so I can't claim it. This isn't the ZA and Joe's rules don't work. Please review!